Erykah Badu is feeling the stings of the BeyHive after some IG shade, questioning Beyoncé’s hairstyle on the ‘Carter Album’ cover.
The Grammy winner’s longtime publicist, Yvette Schure, promptly defended her with the sharpest sting.
Everything began earlier when Beyoncé revealed new artwork for her upcoming album, “Act II: Cowboy Carter” on Instagram. The photo accompanied another drop on March 19, which gave fans more insight into the origin of her album and revealed a personal experience that spurred her commitment to the new genre.
The album cover showed Beyoncé naked, except for a red, white, and blue sash bearing the family name Beyincé with a lit cigar in her hand. The mother of three struck a pose reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty.
However, Badu objected to Bey’s hairstyle: long braids with colorful beads, which appeared too similar to Badu’s preference for braided hairstyles with beaded bangs.
Erykah’s profile even has a pinned post from February 20 that shows her wearing a similar braid, bang, and bead hairstyle.
She reposted the Cowboy Carter image in her Instagram Stories with the cryptic caption, “Hmmm.”
Many people assumed that the “Tyrone” singer accused Beyoncé of copying her mane style.
Erykah’s posts sparked a frenzy of social media backlash. Many pointed out that Venus and Serena Williams had worn previous styles. While some credited Rick James as being the first to wear the look. Others noted the significance of braids in African culture and tradition.
The backlash grew so intense that Erykah responded again on Twitter/X, jokingly asking Jay Z, Beyoncé’s husband, to save her from the Bey Hive.
“To Jay Z . Say somethin’, Jay. You gone let this woman and these bees do this to me ?? 😆,” she wrote in the post.
Soon after, Yvette Schure shared a montage of the musician with various braided hairstyles with a shady caption that seemed to insinuate that Erykah Badu was not qualified to critique.
She captioned the post, “She slays. She slays. Now. Then. Always. Act ii COWBOY CARTER 3.29 #criticswithoutcredentials.
What do y’all think? Is Erykah overreaching or not?
